New Cage

L1ttlePaws · 04-08-2020, 02:43 PM

I had originally bought a 40 gallon breeder tank for Buttercup, but recently she's been constantly up against the glass, trying to get out. I can tell that she's bored and doesn't have enough space, so I've decided to upgrade her to an ikea detolf (assuming my parents say yes). The problem is, the only space that is out of direct sunlight is at the foot of my bed. There's no room to put a detolf there, as it barely fits my current enclosure. The only other spot out of direct sunlight is in my walk in closet. Obviously, I want to avoid putting her in there. Since she never comes out during the day, I was wondering if it was alright to place the cage in an area that receives direct sunlight at certain times? I have curtains that block the majority of the light, but I want to make sure this is safe. Also, any recommendations for lids that will fit a detolf?

cypher · 04-08-2020, 03:36 PM

Ideally you want a cage to be out of direct sunlight but if it's only for a brief period each day & not at the peak of the day when it's hottest it may be ok.
Most people make lids for the detolf, haven't done it myself but I'm sure others will have ideas how best to do it.

Pebbles82 · 04-08-2020, 05:30 PM

I think it would be better not to have a glass enclosure in direct sunlight. A 40 gallon breeder is a good size- could it be something about her set up that’s making her like this? Sometimes they can feel a bit exposed and not cosy enough in there especially with tanks which tend not to have shelves for overhead cover unless you put a platform in. Have you got a photo of her set up? Often a few tweaks can help them settle in and not want to escape. So maybe try that before upgrading her. The other thing that can make them like that is if they are cleaned out a lot - that stresses them and they don’t feel at home and want to escape. Ideally you’d have at least 6” deep substrate, a litter tray and just occasionally spot clean if needed and empty the litter tray. That way you can go weeks without needing to change the substrate. It stays clean and dry - it’s just their pee that needs sorting and if you have a litter tray they tend to use it (if you put it in the right place!) and then you can just empty that every few days.

They also need somewhere dark to retreat to to feel secure - eg a large house or nesting box that’s dark inside. Putting a bendy bridge over a house entrance helps make it dark inside and the house needs to be fairly large so they can build a big cosy nest.

Their nest and hoard are their most important things so if you throw those away when cleaning that will make her pretty frantic. The nest can be left alone if not pee’d in. And so can the hoard be left a long time if not pee’d on. A house that is open underneath is ideal as they can bury hoards under their nest.

L1ttlePaws · 04-08-2020, 08:00 PM

Here's her current cage setup, I hope you can see the images. She has a multi-chamber hide with 6 'rooms'. A for her horde, I have unfortunately been throwing it away because she pees in the same chamber and same corner as she keeps her food stash. I have ordered a litter tray for her in hopes of fixing this, but it has yet to come. I don't change the substrate very often because she no longer pee's all over the place like she used to. After the litter tray comes, I'm hoping that she can keep her horde clean and I can stop having to remove it.

I don't know if you can see it, but she does have over 6 inches of bedding at one end.

Ria P · 04-09-2020, 06:12 AM

You could add lots of different millet sprays for extra enrichment and make puzzle toys from cardboard with treats hidden in them to keep her busy.

L1ttlePaws · 04-09-2020, 10:01 AM

Thank you! I've been saving paper towel rolls recently and I have so many cardboard boxes to use! I don't know why but Buttercup seems to be the only hamster that doesn't like millet sprays.. I haven't tried other sprays though. Tysm for your help

Ria P · 04-09-2020, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L1ttlePaws

Thank you! I've been saving paper towel rolls recently and I have so many cardboard boxes to use! I don't know why but Buttercup seems to be the only hamster that doesn't like millet sprays.. I haven't tried other sprays though. Tysm for your help

Rosewood does a good selection in the bird section.

Pebbles82 · 04-09-2020, 01:14 PM

It looks very nice and I am sure she enjoys that house? How old is she? I find when they’re babies and for the first few months they don’t quite get organised with their toilet habits for a while

. The peeing in her hoard can become a catch 22 and it takes a bit of breaking the cycle. They pee on it to deter people from stealing it. Then you have to take it out because it’s pee’d on, then she pees on the hoard again because it got stolen! If you have to take it out, do you put new food back in the same place? That’s usually recommended. Our last hamster sometimes used to hoard in his toilet and then the hoard had to go. So when I put the toilet back with new sand I’d put new food back next to the toilet or a bit further away from it. It took 2 or 3 times but then he got the hang of it and stopped hoarding in the toilet. Sometimes they will just put one or two special things in the pee area or toilet - eg the prized walnut or favourite chew. I tend to just pick those out and leave them if not too bad - or replace them with new ones nearby.

Agree adding some more enrichment could help. Sort of fill up the floor area with tunnels and hidey places so it’s a bit of an obstacle course and lots of places to go and things to run through and climb over. I think a platform would help as well - maybe at the right hand end where the little house is. You can just use a piece of wood and stick dowels in for legs. Or some people make shelves/platforms out if Ikea knuff magazine racks - depending what type you make you may not need the gaff of legs then. They do like a shelf - somewhere to go and have other hidey places and also to sit under. Most of ours have done their washing sitting under a shelf. Moo does his washing in a coconut hut instead

I’ll link the knuff shelves.

Pebbles82 · 04-09-2020, 01:16 PM

Link won’t work. Type “Hamster knuff shelves” into google and click on images

L1ttlePaws · 04-09-2020, 01:51 PM

She's about 5-6 months old. Whenever I take out her horde I always put more food back in the corner. I've had to remove the the smaller house in the back corner because she was using it as a stool to try and get out of the cage. She would hook her claws and teeth into the lid trying to get out and I didn't want her to hurt herself. She's gotten her teeth stuck in the small mesh of the lid before and it freaks me out that she might hurt herself. I'll definitely check out the ikea knuff shelves and try adding more enrichment to her cage.